Space Astrophysics is a research domain which has benefited greatly from the recent advances in technology and has contributed to the most fundamental discoveries in various areas of Astrophysics over the past 20 years. The nature of operation of space observatories (all experiments are designed remotely and data is archived in servers accessed via the web) make it possible for researchers in regions in the outskirts of Europe with no access to other major research facilities to perform high quality science. Over the past three years the Astrophysics Group in the island of Crete (Greece) has invested a considerable fraction of its human resources in Space Astrophysics by hiring three new tenure track faculty with expertize in X-ray and Infrared Space Astrophysics. We propose to use the opportunities provided by the Capacities Program to further develop the research potential of our group. Our project will be based on twinnings with top Space Research Institutes in Europe (CEA/Saclay, France and MPE/Garching, Germany), on hires of experienced researchers, on upgrading our telescope equipment, and on workshop/conference organization. Our goal is to train our local personnel and improve the visibility of the group so that at the end of the proposed program the group will be at a level which will enable it to collaborate with major european research centers on forefront research projects.